Day 88 – On the buses

With a final day to kill before flying out tomorrow we chose to do a little exploring. We were recommended taking the bus up to the Northern beaches and as there’s a stop right outside the hostel we thought why not?

The buses were are pretty frequent so we didn’t have to wait long. We got a day pass for under $10 and relaxed for the 50 minute journey to Palm Cove. The route stops off at a few other tourist attractions, like the sky rail and cable ski, even though we’d been told that you couldn’t get to these without a tour. We weren’t in the mood for a tourist trap so were happy to give them a miss.

Stepping off the bus it was midday and I could feel the sun burning my neck. First sight was the swimming area which was closed due to the choppy sea and high risk of  marine stingers. With not much to do we walked around the small village and up the beach to the pier that overlooks double island.

Hoping to be able to swim at another beach we boarded the next bus to Clifton Beach. Unfortunately it was the same story there and the sun made it just too hot to sit down and relax. So we got the bus back to town and did a bit of shopping for lunch.

in the evening Tom joined me for a run. I’d got a bad blister from my fins yesterday so had to run bare foot. It was fine for a while but after a couple of miles I had to give up and go back to the pool instead.

One thing I’ve not mentioned about Cairns is the wildlife. On the mud flats live a colony of pelicans. In the trees live storks. In the evening small parrots make a hell of a noise as they return to roost but this is soon outdone by the giant bats that take to the sky as the light fades. These bats are like something out of a Dracula film, huge.